Ukraine, Russia trade blame for strike reportedly killing dozens of prisoners of war
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of carrying out a missile strike on a prison in Olenivka, Donetsk on Friday that reportedly killed at least 40 prisoners of war.
Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were feared dead Friday as Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of carrying out a missile strike on a prison in Russian-controlled territory.
Russia said Ukraine used a U.S.-supplied rocket system to hit a detention facility near the eastern front lines, killing at least 40 soldiers including some who had been captured after the fall of Mariupol in late May.
Kyiv vehemently denied any such strike and said Moscow was to blame, accusing the Kremlin of deliberately shelling the prison to falsely accuse Ukraine of war crimes and cover up its own.
NBC News has not been able to independently verify the claims from either side.
Moscow-backed separatists in the Donetsk region said a Ukrainian attack on the prison in the town of Olenivka killed 53 prisoners of war and wounded 75 others. The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that 40 had been killed, with 75 injured and eight staff members at the facility also wounded.
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